Thousands of sailors and marines returned home June 2 as the USS Constellation and her battle group pulled into San Diego Bay, where they were welcomed by thousands of people who came out to let our “boys and girls” know we are glad to have them back. Among those lining Shelter Island to get a first glimpse of the ships as they pulled around Coronado Island and Point Loma were a group of GLBT community members who proudly waved rainbow flags and held rainbow balloons along with red, white and blue balloons.

More than 20 people showed up for the GLBT welcome home, coordinated by the American Veterans for Equal Rights, The Center and the Imperial Court. This was the second time in just over a month that the groups had come together to welcome home service men and women who were returning to San Diego from the war in the gulf.

“It’s a little bigger, a wider variety,” Bob Lehman, the president of AVER, told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “We had guys drive down from as far as Bakersfield. I guess they saw the ad in the paper or the e-mail and decided to come down.”

The reception from others who had come out to welcome the troops was a warm one as well. One family even took time to pose under the rainbow balloon arch with some of the GLBT vets who had come out.

“They were accepting last time and they were this time too,” Lehman said. “I think people kind of get what we are trying to do. We are Americans too and they are cool about that.”

AJ Turner, better known to some as Lady Ajax, who hosts events regularly at Bacchus House, was among the group out to welcome home the sailors and marines.

“I know a couple of people, but I am not at liberty to say who,” Turner said about his friends on board the ship. “We have a standing appointment tomorrow night. As soon as they get done they are going to come out and see us.”

Turner added that the reunion is long overdue. “It’s real tough. It will be good, after seven months, to see them. They were at the bar the night before they left. They thought it was going to be six months at the time — this is before the war happened — and now they are coming back.”

The GLBT welcome home comes at a very appropriate time as the U.S. Military journal, Parameters, concluded that the military’s gay ban is “based on prejudice, not military necessity” in a recent article entitled, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Is the Gay Ban Based on Military Necessity?” The article examines the experiences of foreign military allies including Britain, Israel, Canada and Australia, who have lifted their ban on gay service members and found no detrimental impact on unit cohesion, morale, or retention of recruiting.

“I thought the rally was a great success,” said AJ Davis-DeFeo of The Center’s Public Policy Department. “We had ... enough people to show that the LGBT community is serious about supporting service members and demanding that the Department of Defense lifts the ban.”

The return of the over 8,000 sailors and marines on board the five ships that returned to San Diego last week marks the end of an era for the Constellation. The 40-year-old ship is scheduled to be decommissioned later this year.